Hermione Granger and her Seven Villains
by bloomsburry
Summary: There are no Princes in this story..and no Damsel in Distress. For this is not a fairytale...but the tale of Seven Villains and their Heroine. And yet despite all their crimes..will their heroine care enough to save them in time? Crackfic (Drabble series; mixing fairy tale stories and mythology with HP) *Hermione travels back in time, and ended up stuck with Tom and his Knights*
1. The Tale of the Beast (HermioneAbraxas)

**Author's Note:** This will be my first attempt at humor, though I'm not sure you're going to find it funny. This story is actually more of a parody version of Hermione Granger and the Knights of Walpurgis. It will be written in drabble-like style, but some will be longer than others. I like to write stories with action-adventure, so I hope you will enjoy this one. This will be a series of random, unusual and mixed retellings from Fairtytale stories, Greek Mythology and other things, though this is set in the HP world. Instead of a hero, however, its the female whose going to save the man - or rather - men. And they aren't even your typical Princes, but actually the Villains.

This story is set in Tom Riddle's time. The time after Tom left school and began to travel the world in search for followers, some of his loyal followers... err.. devoted knights possibly might have traveled with him too. It was mention that they were waiting for him in the Three Broomstick when Tom applied for the position for the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. Although, there's only been mention around five of them. (Avery Sr., Lestrange Sr., Rosier Sr., Mulciber Sr., Nott Sr.) Abraxas Malfoy actually wasn't a member of the gang, but I do love to include him too.

In this story, Hermione traveled back in time, and ended up tied to them. Though she remained invisible for a reason, except for a the full moon. If you want to know the entire story, you can read the prequel to the HGKoW, which Hermione Granger and the Might of the Phoenix. You can check for more updates and snippets in my twitter or tumblr account. links are on my profile. my tumblr is ( .com)

By the way, other than the banner, I also made a trailer for this story. I hope you can check them out in my profile.

* * *

 **The Tale of the Beast (Abraxas/Hermione)**

"Only the strongest shall remain amongst my Knights," Tom said, staring at the blonde man kneeling before him, "and you, Abraxas, is not one of them."

"Please, my lord." The Malfoy heir pleaded, whimpering when both Fabian Avery and Clifford Mulciber tightened their hold on his arms.

"The Malfoy money can only go so far," He stated coldly, and with that, he nodded his head to Lloyd Nott in a silent command to proceed.

"NO! PLEASE!" Abraxas started struggling and shouting, but Avery and Mulciber held him fast, with Benjamin grabbing a handful of Malfoy's hair and forcefully tipping his head back.

Squeezing the stopper off from the vial, Nott stepped closer to the blonde man.

"Let him drink it," Tom ordered.

"I BEG OF YOU, MY LORD! DON'T!-UGH!"

In silence, Tom watched as both Edmund Rosier wrenched Malfoy's mouth wide open while Nott forced the green liquid down the blonde's throat.

Abraxas sputtered, gurgling when he tried to talk, which then turned into a series of coughs, possibly when the liquid must have went to his airway; tears forming at the corners of Malfoy's eyes while he choked out incomprehensible words

"Gragh – please – ugh ooont – do grugh grugh…"

However, his feeble protests fell on deaf ears.

As soon as the vial was completely emptied, they released the blonde pureblood.

Abraxas slumped unto the floor, trembling pathetically.

"Considering that you value your appearance more than anything else, let's see how you can stomach looking at yourself in the mirror after this." Tom stated maliciously.

Just then, the live strain of the dragon pox virus, finally took effect.

With a shout, Abraxas stared in abject horror when greenish-purple scales began appearing on his right hand, and then on his forearm, before spreading towards his torso and face.

"NOOOOOO! NOT MY BEAUTIFUL FACE!"

That exclamation was an insult to Tom.

So, he slapped the blonde hard.

 _**SMACK!** _

"How many times do I have to tell you, Abraxas?! You are not beautiful! Where's my goddamn mirror so that this buffoon can see it for himself?!"

...

Light on her feet, Hermione carefully maneuvered herself through the darkness, and towards the direction of the bed.

She already knew the layout of the room.

Afterall, she had spent the last few days watching its occupant destroy it out of fury.

Despite that fact, however, it was still a daunting task as she threaded through the many obstructions scattered on the floor, such as: shards of glass that came from the a broken vase, a lump of feathers which must have come from a ripped pillow; or the wooden debris - small splinters of it - must be from the torn chairs and other upholstery that Malfoy had a habit of blasting in his fits of temper.

 _Abraxas really did a good job at redecorating his room._ Hermione thought wryly.

She paused for a short while, scanning the area in front of her, and allowing her eyes to adjust to the darkness a bit more.

Finally, Hermione could make out the outline of the bed in front of her. Though the lump lying on top of it was hard to distinguish; it might be a pillow, or a broken part of a wardrobe, for all she knew.

Malfoy had drawn the thick curtain, which prevented even a sliver of moonlight to enter his room.

Hence, she took a step towards the lump on the bed to investigate further.

That's when she stepped unto shards of glass.

 _CRUNCH-CRUNCH-CRUNCH_

The crunching noises it generated sounded louder in the deathly silence of the room.

Hermione froze, listening carefully.

To her right, she heard the rustle of cloth, and her head snapped in that direction.

Her eyes could only see the form of a chair, but no more than that.

"Lumos," She murmured.

Immediately, light flooded the entire room, showing to her the devastation she always saw during her visits there.

"NO! TURN OFF THE GODAMN LIGHT! TURN IT OFF! YOU CAN'T SEE MY FACE!"

Hermione nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard Abraxas's roar. She was so startled that she stumbled back, and nearly tripped over a peacock figurine.

Fortunately, she was fast to recover from the shock..

"Don't be such a Drama Queen, Malfoy!" Hermione snapped, taking a cautious step towards the hulking figure sitting on a high-back chair just beside a fireplace.

"I've already seen what you look like in the last few days! No amount of hiding beneath that bed sheet can stop me from taking a peek, idiot!"

Hermione had already seen his face when she was still invisible.

That had been three days ago.

However, tonight was the full moon, and the only time she became corporeal and able to use her magic.

"What the hell are you doing here, you pesky poltergeist-girl?!" Abraxas growled, arranging the bed sheet that the Malfoy was using to cover most of his face.

"I'm here to help." She answered, taking another step towards his chair.

"I don't need your bloody help! Now get out of my sight!" The arrogant pureblood snarled, flinging a cushion at her.

Hermione stepped to the side and let it sail past.

Abraxas growled.

Not wanting to waste any more time with the stupid man, she said the only thing that might convince the pureblood fool.

"Do you want to become pretty again, or not?"

That seemed to catch Abraxas' attention.

 _What a narcissistic bastard._

…..

"Take it," she said, holding up her palm towards him.

The teardrop glistening on the pad of her index finger.

"Rub it over your skin and you will -"

"DO YOU TAKE ME FOR A FOOL, YOU INSIPID MIDGET?!" Abraxas roared, launching up to his feet from the chair he had been sitting on, and stalked towards her; his long strides eating the distance that separated them.

The bedsheet that covered his tall form, sliding to the ground and revealing to her the scales that lined half the side of his face, his torso and his arms; tinged in green, purple, and red - it looked like discoloured blotches of skin.

"Seriously, Malfoy! Stop acting like a wild beast!" Hermione said in annoyance, which was the wrong thing to say because that made Abraxas Malfoy act more... _agitated_.

One second, she was standing there, and the next thing she knew...she was knocked over by a body mass twice the size of her.

It felt like she had been hit by a car when she slammed right in the bed, taking the breath out of her. The bed groaning at the force of her fall, and from the sudden overwhelming weight that occupied it.

"How can your tears heal me?!" Abraxas growled close to her face, spit showering over her.

Hermione thought she needed to force herself to cry for him, just to give him the tears that contained the healing properties of the phoenix.

However, it seemed Malfoy could already do that for her - make her cry that is.

Abraxas breath was horrendous.

Hermione had to close her mouth and nose at the smell of it. Her eyes watering.

"Or do you have this silly notion that love - or compassion - would have the power to -"

"Merlin's breath, Abraxas! When was the last time you brush your teeth?!" Hermione exclaimed, pinching her nose while she tried to push his face away from her, coincidentally rubbing the tears she had shed across the patches of discoloration on his face.

If it was even possible, beneath the greenish scales, Hermione could have sworn a scarlet flush climbed up Abraxas' cheeks.

Abraxas clamped his mouth shut after her obtuse statement, clearly embarrassed.

Hermione pushed against him, and it was to her relief that Malfoy finally rolled off of her, and sit at the edge of the bed.

She sat up, closely watching the pureblood beside her, who had his elbows propped up on his knees while he covered his face with his hands.

"Get out," He said in a soft voice, not looking at her; hands gripping clamps of his now greasy-platinum blonde hair.

When Riddle had forced Malfoy to drink that vial, which contained a live dragon pox virus, Abraxas had stopped caring about himself, neglecting even to eat some of the food that Clifford Mulciber had brought for him.

"Leave me be, and go bother someone else.."

"No," came Hermione's stubborn persistence. "I'm tired of watching you waste yourself in this little hellhole you built up. Beauty is not everything, and money won't last forever, what you need is -"

"I SAID GET OUT!" Abraxas yelled, his hands clenching into tight fist.

"No," Hermione said stubbornly. Straightening her spine, she scooted towards him.

Abraxas let out an animalistic growl, when she neared.

But Hermione wasn't afraid.

"Look at me," she murmured, taking a hold of his shoulder gently but firmly, "I'm here to help, so please don't drive me away…"

There was short paused.

Abraxas must have heard something in her voice, because he suddenly sighed, his broad shoulders slumping in defeat.

"You're are annoying, as much as you are stubborn, aren't you?" The blonde mused out loud, finally allowing Hermione to turn his face towards hers.

She met his molten-silver eyes, and smiled: "Yes, I'm stubborn, but you are too."

"Well, go on, and let your tears heal me." Abraxas said with a snort of derision.

"It's already healing." Hermione remarked, softly brushing her fingers across a patch of skin on his cheek, which had been covered in dragon pox a second ago.

"The Phoenix tears has fast regenerative properties."

With feather-light touches, she rubbed the creamy skin that began to emerge from beneath it, testing the texture; from his high cheekbone, to the skin beneath his eye, to the bridge of his aristocratic nose, and down towards the corners of his wide mouth and then to the cleft of his chin.

A slow, but tentative touch, almost faint.

Nevertheless, unbeknownst to her, Abraxas had stilled when she had started exploring his face.

When she noticed his labored breathing puffing from between his parted lips, Hermione's eyes swiftly went back to him; curious.

The pureblood blonde was giving her a funny look.

"What?" She asked, cocking her head to the side.

Abraxas stared at her, his eyes had turned dark as storm clouds.

"You said your tears can heal me," He began, turning fully to face her.

"Yes," Hermione frowned at him.

"How about your blood, or perhaps your...err..saliva, does it contain healing properties too?" Abraxas inquired, scooting closer.

"I don't know. Why?" came her innocent question.

"Perhaps you can heal me by kissing -"

 **_THUMP!_ ** Hermione slammed a pillow into his face, feathers bursting out from it.

Abraxas ended up having feathers stuff into his mouth.

"I think you better brush your teeth first, take a bath, and clean your bloody room before you can come near me, Malfoy!" She burst out, getting to her feet while the blonde pureblood begin to spit out the feathers from his mouth.

Marching towards the door, Hermione quickly added: "No one in their right mind will want to kiss someone who has bad breath!"

Hermione didn't need to glance around to know that Abraxas was blushing.

"And so once I brush my teeth, take a bath, and clean my room, you're going to kiss me?"

She heard him asked from behind her, to which she answered by saying without hesitation.

"Never!"

* * *

 **TO BE CONTINUED...**


	2. The Tale of Fionas and Shrek?

**Author's Note:** I told myself to make the chapter shorter, around 2k words, but then this just expanded. And I had to cut it.

* * *

Currently, Riddle and his knights were locked in a high-security tower, warded from using magic, and apparently, cursed too.

No, thanks to someone.

"Whose clever idea was it to steal from a dragon's treasure trove?"

All eyes turned to Clifford Mulciber.

"I wasn't planning to steal it! I was merely admiring the ring!" Clifford defended.

"Admiring it? Admiring it by putting it inside your pocket?" Abraxas snarled, stalking towards the other blonde, and grabbing a hold of his robes.

Abraxas started to shake him.

"I've already thrown it back to where it belong!" Clifford Mulciber growled, elbowing Abraxas in the face, who staggered back.

After recovering in haste, Abraxas immediately launched himself on the other man once again, both hitting the wall with a **THUD!** , before they subsequently fell on the floor.

"But not before you cursed all of us!" Benjamin exclaimed in anger, jumping into the scuffle.

And the three were on the floor punching, kicking and grappling like some filthy muggle children in the schoolyard.

Tom watched them in complete disgust. Yet did not say anything to stop them.

"Yes, you curse us because you just couldn't resist that bit of gold! Come dawn and we will turn into ogres if we can't escape from this high-security tower!" Edmund added vehemently, gritting his teeth.

The Knights were at the highest part of the castle, a tower where they had been driven by the dragon which had tried to toast them alive. A Castle containing thousands of historical artefacts and which was protected by a Dragon; a Ukranian Ironbelly.

It had been hours since the mighty beast had calmed down from it rampage, and was currently guarding the flight of steps that lead to their tower. Other than the one window there that overlooked a thousand feet drop cliff below, there was no other way of escaping, but the door.

"Curse you, Mulciber and that bloody ring you tried to steal!" Llyod said, stalking towards the three men on the floor, who were trying to choke the man responsible for their current predicament.

He swing his leg back and was about to kick Mulciber on the face when the Dark Lord finally spoke.

"Calm down, all of you." Tom said nonchalantly, staring out the window with his arms crossed in front of him.

He was leaning against the wall just beside the windowsill.

"There's no need for us to worry, not when we have a back-up,"

"What back up?" Benjamin asked, letting go of Clifford and standing up. The blonde on the floor started coughing when he was able to finally breathe.

"We don't have a – Oh!" At once, there was a dawning comprehension lightning up Benjamin's eyes.

"Do you mean…." Abraxas began, also realizing what Tom meant.

"Yes," Tom replied, turning around to look at each of them. "Tonight is the full moon."

The men glanced at each other.

"The girl will be coming for us. She doesn't have a choice." Tom said.

"This is the girl's fault in the first place! If she hadn't taken and hidden our wands somewhere within this Castle, we wouldn't have ended up stuck in this awful tower!" Fabian Avery said angrily.

* * *

 _ **An hour later…**_

Dusk had fallen and still the girl hadn't arrive yet.

The men started pacing. Tension mounting as their tempers started to flare as time passed by.

It wouldn't be a surprise if a fight break out between them.

Riddle remained near the window, silent, waiting, and still leaning against the wall with his arms crossed; his eyes fixed at a certain point outside.

He looked like a statue.

"Where is she?" Benjamin asked impatiently, striding towards the window. The strong wind whipped at his black hair as soon as he leaned forward to look at the deadly drop and the ravine below, expecting the girl to be climbing already towards them, but couldn't detect any movements down there.

A moment later, his eyes scanned the surroundings; the skies - where the full moon was hidden by a smattering of drifting clouds - and towards the forest on the opposite side of the cliff and back again.

But still no sign of the girl.

"Why isn't she here yet?"

"She's not coming for us." Llyod said, halting from his pacing. "She's going to leave us here until we turned into ogres and get discovered by the Ukrainian curators."

"She won't. She's tied to us after all. " Edmund said in certainty. "We will just have to wait for her."

"And also… she fancies me, there's that too. Of course, the lovestruck girl will be coming for me." Abraxas deadpanned.

Clifford Mulciber chortled, Fabian Avery rolled his eyes, Llyod Nott frowned, Edmund Rosier merely stared while Benjamin scoffed.

"Ha!" The dark-haired wizard detached himself from the window, when he heard Malfoy's statement, with Riddle still ignoring all of them.

"Out of the seven of us, I think our little stalker has a thing for me. She's been sneaking in to drink my cup of coffee every morning perhaps to steal an indirect kiss from me."

"She probably did it to annoy you, Ben." Abraxas began, smirking.

Benjamin seethed at the name.

"On the other hand, I am certain that the girl fancies me, because she's been using my soap. Mayhap to have my scent rubbed all over her."

"That's because you're using a lavender-scented soap, Ax!" This time it was Abraxas turned to glower at the name. The way Benjamin said, 'Ax' sounded more like an, 'Ass'.

"- she must have used it because the scent is so _womanly._ She probably even think that you're gay!"

Abraxas turned red in indignation.

"I'm not –"

"Enough!" Tom ordered sharply.

The two instantly closed their mouth shut.

Tom glared at them. "The girl likes neither of you! It's because she hates all of us! The only reason the girl hadn't killed us in our sleep - mind you, that she would have - but she didn't, because she needs us alive for whatever reason… perhaps the same reason she remains invisible most of the time, except for some occasions to feed herself, and tend to her other _business._ "

At that, Benjamin suddenly laughed out loud as he remembered something. "Do you remember the time when we woke up with blood on our bed sheets?"

Some of the men shuddered, recalling the event, not liking where the conversation was going.

"Shut up, Benjamin!" Llyod Nott warned, walking to the young Knight.

But the dark-haired youth continued on, quickly avoiding the other man when Llyod tried to grab for him.

" –some of us thought that we were stabbed in our sleep by the girl, with her having a habit of jumping on us, from one bed to the other, just to pester us while we are about to sleep…"

This time, the men started to stop him from repeating the story again, getting disturbed.

"Stop talking, Benjamin!"

"I don't want to hear this story again!"

Benjamin didn't stop.

Riddle was rubbing his fingers over the knit on his brows, trying to calm himself down, and stop himself from killing Lestrange.

" - but it turns out that the girl was menstruating, and she left her blood on our bedsheets and didn't even realized it until the next morning…HAHAHAHA!"

In unison, the men tackled Benjamin on the floor, and started beating him.

Riddle facepalmed.

 _Girl, I hope you're coming to save me from this six idiots soon…_

* * *

 **Hours later…**

Just a few hours short from dawn.

The Knights were angry and getting hungry as well. They weren't able to eat lunch and dinner that day. Their stomachs were growling that they had to wrap their arms around themselves to muffle the embarrassing noise.

"How long must we wait for her?" Fabian Avery asked, now sitting at the corner of the room with his legs stretched out before him.

The rest of the men had also taken different spots of the small, circular space around their prison, looking so… _downtrodden_.

Benjamin currently looked badly beaten, and scowling while he played with a pebble in his fingers.

"The girl has left us." Llyod murmured, his shoulder slumping. "She won't be coming for us at –"

However, before Llyod Nott could finish his sentence, the girl was there, flying on a broomstick outside their window, and screeching at the top of her lungs.

"HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO SAVE YOUR SORRY ASSESS, YOU BUNCH OF IMBECILES?!"

"And whose fault is that, when you kept messing on our plans, you annoying little pest?!" Riddle retorted angrily, uncrossing his arms and straightening up his spine to glare at the girl hovering five meters away from the window.

At once, the rest of the men leaped to their feet at the sight of her and hearing her voice; their hearts soaring.

They ran towards the window, pushing against each other just to see or talk to her.

"Get out of my way, Lestrange!"

However, Benjamin ploughed through, ignoring everyone.

"What took you so bloody long?!" Benjamin demanded as if he had the right to do so.

Hermione's brow twitched at his audacity.

"What took me so long?! Is that how you greet someone who is about to save you, huh?! You ungrateful morons!"

"Well, we're getting hungry and -!"

"We need to leave this tower right now, girl." Riddle cut in, "Dawn is fast approaching, if we remain here, we're going to either turn into ogres, or get discovered by someone who comes in to check the place."

Hermione assessed them one by one, her eyes narrowed. "Now, that I think about it, perhaps babysitting a bunch of ogres is better compared to managing seven full-grown wizards, who are hell-bent on conquering the world."

"Don't even dare to try and make us stay here until dawn!" Tom hissed, fury contorting his features, he leaned out the window, hands gripping the cold, stone of the windwsill.

"Let us out from this tower. RIGHT. NOW!"

"No, I won't!" Hermione snapped right back, glowering ferociously. "I told all of you not to come looking for your wands, but of course, you had to... because you know, world Domination and all that." She said sarcastically.

Tom's fury rose slowly as he listened to the girl continue to talk, his knuckles turning white when his grip tightened on the windowsill.

"And since you didn't heed my words. I'll let you all stay there until you learned your lesson!"

"Learn - learned my lesson?!" Tom sputtered incredulously, "Learned my lesson?! I'm ten years older than you, girl!"

"Then stay there a little longer until your bones turned brittle, old man!"

And just like that, the temper that he had kept in check for hours of dealing with his squabbling Knights finally snapped, and he instantly roared in fury.

"I SAID LET US OUT FROM THIS BLOODY TOWER, OR I SWEAR TO -!"

 **THUMP – THUMP – THUMP**

Suddenly, the floors and the walls shook, cobwebs and grains of dust fell from the ceiling when they heard the loud thumping sound below them.

 **THUMP – THUMP – THUMP**

"Oh shit! You've woken the Dragon!" Benjamin said, turning around to look at the door, the others did the same thing; their countenance tight with dread.

Riddle tried to breathe through his nose, his eyes remained fix on the girl, who was now biting her lip and looking indecisive as she stared back at him.

"Let us out," came his simple, but firm words, "Let us out. NOW."

After a short while, the girl ultimately caved in.

"Fine." She responded with a note of reluctance. "I'll let all of you out of there if you do as I say."

"What do you want us to do?" Abraxas asked hurriedly, stepping next to Tom.

"I want all of you to strip." The girl said.

Tom stared blankly at her, unsure if he heard correctly.

The others stared as well. Completely dumbfounded.

The girl merely looked at them; waiting.

"Excuse me?" Tom asked, getting indignant when he realized the girl was serious.

"Are you all deaf? I said, STRIP!" Hermione barked.

And once more, Tom's temper flared right back up, "This is not the time to be joking around, you piece of filth! Don't you get it through your little head that we are now in grave -"

"I'm not joking around, you nitwit!" Hermione bit back, "I have a plan to get you all of out of there! And this can only be done if you're going to remove your clothes. So shut up and strip!"

Tom opened his mouth and was about to say something else, when Fabian Avery spoke first.

"I think we have done enough stripping for you since you started stalking us, girl!"

"Then, all of you can rot in there for all I care! I will be laughing my ass off when all of you turned into ogres!" She retorted in anger, already tired of speaking to the dunderheads.

She wheeled her broomstick around and was ready to forget about the fools, when Edmund Rosier stopped her.

"Wait! Why do we need to remove our clothes for?"

Hermione wanted to bang her head against the wall for their stupidity.

"Don't you see that I'm riding a broom right now? How can I possibly take you all out of there at once? I need something for you to hold unto, like a rope, that's why you need to remove your clothes and tie them together, and then I will tie it to my broom, and with the use of a lightweight charm, I can carry you all out of there."

"That's the most stupid idea that I have ever heard!" Tom burst out, "Give me my wand and let me get us out of this–"

"No, I'm not going to give you your wand!" Hermione interrupted, scowling. "Either you agree to my plan, Riddle, or stay there until you're as ugly as Nott's hairy butt!"

"Hey! You know my butt isn't hairy, you've already seen it a few times!" Llyod Nott protested.

Tom could only seethed in silence at her.

Hermione rolled her eyes at Nott, but blushed a bit at his suggestive statement.

"Can't you just use your magic to conjure a rope?!" Clifford Mulciber suggested.

"I would have if my supply of magic isn't running low at the moment! If you want me to save you all, you better do as I say!" She said, glowering at each of them.

The men glared right back.

"Now strip your clothes off and start tying them together!"

And as predicted, they started protesting at the same time.

"I think not!"

"Just hand over the wand to the Dark Lord, you pest!"

"Like the Dark Lord said, that's the dumbest idea that I have ever heard!"

"It's rather cold outside. I think I will keep my clothes on. Thank you very much!"

"Hand over my damn wand, girl!" Riddle said again.

Hermione was getting impatient.

"I said, NO! Riddle! Now, strip the bloody hell up! Or I will do it for you, and I swear to Merlin that you will all be hanging butt-naked from the rope after this!" She threatened.

The men looked equally disturbed at the thought.

That's when the Dragon made its presence known once more.

 **THUMP – THUMP – THUMP**

And then, without warning, the walls, floor and ceiling lurked, the men loosening their balance as they heard the ominous sound of what sounded like the Dragon purposely hitting this section of the castle.

 **BOOOOGG! BOOOOGG! BOOOG!** was the sounds as the Dragon used its tail to swing and hit the walls leading towards the tower, where the men was being lurked from side to side from the force of the quake.

"FUCK! THE DRAGON IS TRYING TO BREAK THE TOWER!" Clifford shouted in realization.

 **BOOOOGG! BOOOOGG! BOOOG!**

Cracks begin to appear over the walls and on the floors, spreading wide as the Dragon continued to attack their section of the castle.

 **BOOOOGG! BOOOOGG! BOOOG!**

The cracks begin to spread up the ceiling, where debris and a cloud of dust begin to fall on them.

"AT THIS RATE, WE WILL PLUMMET TO THE RAVINE BELOW IF WE DON'T GET OUT OF THIS TOWER!"

"WE ARE RUNNING OUT OF TIME!" Hermione yelled. "SO SHUT YOUR MOUTHS AND STRIP THE BLOODY HELL UP!"

 **BOOOOGG! BOOOOGG! BOOOG!**

Without any further prompting, the men started doing what they were told.

The men had never stripped their clothes off as fast as they did in that moment. Hastily sliding their sleeves of their robes out of their arms and flinging them off their shoulders, ripping their shirt open that the buttons flew everywhere, and hastily removing their belt buckles, and -

 **BOOOOGG! BOOOOGG! BOOOG!**

All of a sudden, the tower tilted, the crack on the walls near the doorway widened that two people could fit in and push through.

 **CRACKKKK – CRACKKK – CRACKKK**

Slowly, but surely, the tower begin to break apart from the castle.

The men started yelling and cursing as they continued to remove their clothes in haste.

Hermione took out her wand and used a Divestio spell on them.

 **Divestio!**

The clothes were off from their bodies before they could even blink.

Now, it lay in a pile at their feet, ready to be used for Hermione's purpose.

Hermione ignored their tall and leanly muscled frames. She had seen them naked or half-naked in the last months that she might as well be immune already. Though there's still a blush rising to her cheeks as she met their shocked gazes.

"Hey!" Benjamin yelled, trying to hide himself behind Edmund Rosier, who appeared just as astonished.

"That was – that was inappropriate!" Abraxas tried to cover himself.

But Hermione didn't give the others the chance to protest as she yelled at them.

 **BOOOOGG! BOOOOGG! BOOOG!**

"START TYING YOUR CLOTHES TOGETHER!"

"WHY DON'T YOU JUST USE YOUR MAGIC?!" Tom shouted over the sudden loud, groaning sound when the Tower tilted further, at a thirty degree angle.

 **CRACKKKK – CRACKKK – CRACKKK**

"I TOLD YOU, I CAN'T! MY MAGIC IS LIMITED AT THE MOMENT! I CAN ONLY TRANSFIGURE YOUR CLOTHES!"

The men started to slide down the floor, towards the walls near the window, gravity forcing them there along with their clothes. They clung to the walls while everything around them begin to crumble.

They went down to retrieve the clothes from their feet and began tying them together fast.

The seven worked in silence as they tied their shirt, robes, ties, and trousers tightly together. The Dragon had stopped creating those thumping noises, but the tower was still breaking apart.

 **CRACKKKK – CRACKKK – CRACKKK**

Some slabs of stones and panel of wood fell, causing the men to roll out of the way before it could hit them.

The Knights were almost done with their knots, when she heard an ominous, ear-splitting **CRAKKKKK-CRAAKKK** ing noise.

Without thinking twice, Hermione wheeled her broom around and called to Riddle, who was nearest to the window.

"RIDDLE! RIDDLE! THROW ME YOUR CLOTHES!"

Seeing the look of panic on her face, Tom threw the line of clothing to her at once, even when some of the others were not finish tying.

Hermione transfigured it into a rope the second she caught it in her hand, and magically attached it to her broom before placing a lightweight charm on the rope. She did it in a span of five seconds

The men were already holding unto the rope like a lifeline before she had even finish transfiguring it. Hermione had placed a handholds and footholds on the rope for all of them to grip securely.

Now, it was all on her to carry them out of there.

And with one final, **CRAAKKKKKKK** , and a deafening **GRRRRUUUUUUUUU,** the tower inevitably detached from the Castle walls.

Hermione shouted at the men.

"HOLD UNTO THE ROPE AND DON'T LET GO! I'M GETTING YOU ALL OUT OF THERE!"

And with that she whipped her wand and yelled, **"BOMBARDA!"** , to widen the opening on the window and let the men past easily.

The window and wall exploded into piles of rock, cloud of dust, and rain of sharp projectiles, with Hermione quickly casting a shield charm in all of the seven men to keep them from getting injured.

After all, they were only wearing their underwear; so sweet of her, really.

"JUMP NOW!" She shouted.

With rocks falling and hammering around against the shield she had cast around them, the men run and leaped from the collapsing tower, holding and gripping the rope tightly.

Simultaneously, they swung precariously through the air as the entire tower fell fast and upside down unto the ravine below. However, the men were already out before it could have dragged them, and her, down.

Still wildly swinging from the rope, the men yelled in surprise and fright the instant Hermione leaned forward close to her broom, and zipped out of there as fast as she could.

She was using the Firebolt that Sirius Black had given to her. She had to remind herself that she was going to give the man a kiss for teaching her how to fly once she went back to her time.

She heard the men shouting, and look below to see them getting whipped around by the gust of wind, and also from the speed of which she flew.

She also saw the collapsed portion of the tower crashing into the rapid waters below with a **BOOOOOOGGGSSSHHH!** with water rising like a tidal wave soon after.

However, Hermione was already soaring towards the skies with the Knights clinging to the rope that she had transfigured.

* * *

"You said you only have limited magic to use! How come you are able to use a shield charm?!" Tom yelled as soon as they were out of harm's way, and flying towards a safer location to land.

But still high up that the men were shivering from the cold.

Hermione decided to let them hang there a little bit longer as punishment.

"I lied. I just couldn't let you hitch a ride with me without fearing of getting killed by either of you, did you?"

The men stared up at her, looking flabbergasted.

"I had to make sure that you don't have any hidden weapons in your person right before I let you climb up, therefore the clothes had to go."

"What the hell?!" Fabian Avery burst out while Benjamin said, "Or you just wanted to see us in our underwear, and you're just making up excuses for-"

"Shut your trap, Lestrange!" Hermione interrupted, annoyed at the suggestion.

"Since you can use your magic, then why did you have to make us tie the clothes together?" Edmund inquired indignantly. "It was a waste of our time! We could have been out of there fast!"

"It's because I enjoyed watching you guys squirm and panic," was her immediate response, grinning wide.

"Why you little bitch! I'm going to climb up there and kill you myself!" Riddle suddenly threatened, already doing just that as he tried to climb over Avery, who had to clung to the rope for dear life as Riddle's weight was added to his, and almost pulling them both down.

But Riddle continued to climb over his knights, deaf to their grumbling protest, like they didn't exist to him anymore. Not when those furious cobalt-blue eyes were set on her.

Only _her_.

He even ignored it when he had to grab Rosier's boxer shorts and haul himself up and over him.

"My Lord! That's my –"

 ** _RRRRIIIIIIPPPPPP!_**

Hermione watched, amused as Edmund's printed boxers were torn off from his body. It flapped freely in the wind, still clinging to some part of the man's lower torso, fortunately covering his privates.

However, the Gods must hate the man because an eastern wind hit them hard without warning, that the men had to cling to the rope, and Riddle had to pause for a bit in his determination to climb towards her.

And also, there goes the rest of Rosier's boxers. It peeled off from his groin and Hermione had to avert her eyes hastily.

Buffeted by the uncontrollable air current, the boxer whirled and whirled around them before it finally find purchased on someone.

Right on Riddle's face.

For a second, Hermione stared down at the Dark Lord with Rosier's underwear sticking to his face, before she burst out laughing. The rest of the Knights choked, biting down their lips to stop from guffawing at the hilarious sight.

"AHAHAHA!"

Riddle tried to shake the garment off. But it stuck to him like a second skin; the wind blowing against him.

With her shoulders shaking hard from her laughter, Hermione's hold on the broom slackened, it lurked dangerously from side to side and the men was left swinging on the rope.

They started shouting in alarm.

Yet Hermione was still laughing.

"AHAHAHA!"

Holding unto the rope tightly, Tom used his other hand to peel the disgusting piece of garment from his face. He looked at it in revulsion and hastily threw it behind him. Edmund's underwear immediately flew far and away from them. _Thank Merlin._

Riddle started climbing in renewed vigour, arms bunching and flexing on his shoulders and arms. Hermione stopped laughing when she saw the murderous look on Riddle's face, cobalt-blue eyes blazing as he looked up at her.

He kicked Edmund in the face for the unfortunate incident that made him looked like a fool.

"Ouch!" Edmund yelled, and Hermione watched as the naked man slid down the rope and into Fabian's Avery, who was looking up with his mouth half-open.

Horror etched on the man's face, when Edmund's naked butt descended on him and slammed into his face.

Hermione heard Fabian Avery sputtering in disgust, and screaming:

"GAH! OH FUCK! YOUR BALLS! YOUR BALLS, EDMUND! IT'S RUBBING ON MY FACE! YOUR HAIRLESS- FUCKING-BALLS! GET IT OUT OF MY FACE!"

Hermione started laughing again. "HAHAHAHA!"

The other men joined in the hilarity, except for Riddle who still climbing towards her.

"BE GLAD THAT I HAVE NO HAIR DOWN THERE, YOU SHIT!" was Edmund's shout as he started climbing up to grab for his handhold. "UNLIKE YOU, I CARE ABOUT MY PERSONAL HYGIENE!"

Hermione's laughter died down when she felt a hand grabbing her booted foot. Riddle tagged hard on her leg, and Hermione nearly slipped off the broom. It was by instinct that she tightened her hold on the handle, and trying to shake her foot away from Riddle's grip.

Despite her efforts to shake him off, however, Riddle started climbing on her, his hands grabbing for her calves mercilessly.

Their flight trajectory becoming erratic, lurking motions as Hermione tried to control the broom, but at the same time, remove Riddle's hold on her.

Deciding that Riddle clearly wasn't going to let go of her soon, she clenched her hand to release the wand from her wand holster, and into her hand. Without pausing, she pointed it towards the rope that was tied to the broom.

At once, Riddle froze, his eyes fixed on her wand.

In a low, serious tone, she said to him:

"Try pulling me down again and I'll cut the rope. And all of you are going to learn how to fly on your own."

All the men stilled, their eyes looking up at her in apprehension.

Riddle's handsome face hardened, his mouth pulling back into a savage snarl, when he directed his cold, blue eyes at her.

His hand tagged on her leg once more, but she held firm.

 **Incendio!** She thought, and there was a flash of orange light speeding towards the rope, where a fire burst into life.

The rope begin to burn, the fire eating it fast. With the men's combine weight, it was going to snap in a few seconds.

"Riddle," came her simple, yet threatening whisper, her eyes remained locked into his pair of lapis lazuli eyes.

Almost immediately, Riddle let go of her leg, his eyes burning with hatred.

Hermione put out the fire and strengthened the rope.

The other six men sighed in relief.

And that's when everything went from fine to shitty in seconds.

 **BOOOOOOOOOGGGSSSHHHH!**

All heads turned when they heard the earth-shattering sound in the distance. They watched almost in silent horror, when the Ukranian Ironbelly burst out from the Castle in a rain of boulders, dust of pulverized limestones, and shrapnel of wood and scrap of metal, before it spread its wings and soared towards the skies, and letting out an almighty, **RAAAAAAAAWWWWWRRRRR!**

The sound of it chilled Hermione and the men to the bones.

There was no doubt that it.

The large beast was looking for them.

And with a sharp dive, the Dragon was in hot pursuit. Its metallic grey scales gleaming like steel as it caught the light of the moon, its red eyes blazing like hot blood, and its massive wings created such a blast of wind with a **WHOOOOOSSHHH! WHOOOOOSSHH**!, sounds that the trees in the forest below fluttered and bent nearly half way, and it sent a flock of bats and other nightly winged creatures scattering towards the cloudless night skies.

The Dragon was gaining on them fast.

Despite its large size, it flew smoothly in the air.

The men started yelling, cursing and shouting at her.

"WHERE ARE OUR WANDS, GIRL?!" Hermione heard Abraxas yelled, followed by Tom's and Benjamin's shouts.

"GIVE US OUR BLOODY WANDS SO THAT WE CAN DEAL WITH THE DRAGON TOGETHER!"

"OUR WANDS, HERMIONE! OR WE'RE ALL GOING TO BE BARBECUED ALIVE!"

However, Hermione was adamant, and shouted, "NO!"

Just then the beast began to opens it giant maw, its chest expanding, smoke rising from its nostril as it begin to gather heat, energy, and whatever power it has, deep within its breast.

Then, the muscles on its wings started to tense while yellow, orange and red flames flickered into life from the back its throat, growing and growing, brighter and stronger until the Dragon swung its wing back abruptly, and exhaled.

Instantly, a destructive red-orange flames came shooting towards them, incinerating even the packets of clouds on its way.

"OH SHIT!"

Someone yelled below her as Hermione swiftly conjured harnesses for the men to secure them on the rope, before she shouted to them: "HOLD ON TIGHT!"

She could feel the scorching heat getting closer and closer by the second, and with a pushed on the handle of the room, Hermione leaned forward and did a sharp nose-dive towards the ground.

The wind battering mercilessly against her skin and hair that even her eyes watered at the speed of which she dove. The men started screaming like bunch of sissy girls as they swung into a wild arch before they fell from the sky; upside-down.

The roar of flames missed them, but the Dragon was still hot on their heels.

Hermione slowed her descent, or the men will die from the whiplash. She soon heard them groaning and moaning. And akin to riding a roller coaster, they must be close to vomiting.

The Dragon let out another almighty **RAAAAAAWWWRRRR!** before it dove after them once more.

"IT'S GOING TO FIRE AT US AGAIN!" Some of them yelled at her, but she was already swerving when another jet of super-heated flames blasted towards them.

 **VOOOOOGGGGHHHSSS!**

They were able to avoid it, but the forest below, wasn't spared.

There was now a sea of flames licking at their heels as the forest below burned. Tendril of smoke, embers of fire and ashes drifting skywards.

Hermione and the Knights watched in silence as the fire spread.

However, the Dragon was not done yet.

* * *

 **Preview:**

 **BOOOOOOMMM!**

"HOLY SHIT!" Benjamin exclaimed, watching as everything unfolded before them.

Wind and cloud of dust surging towards them from the direction of the explosion.

Then, a second later they heard Benjamin sighed. "I think I'm in love," which was soon followed by the others.

"I think I'm going to marry her," Clifford Mulciber murmured.

"I think she's the _ONE_." Abraxas added.

"I think she's going to be a perfect mate for me." Edmund supplied.

"I think –" Fabian Avery began, but was cut off.

"I think I'm going to kill all of you, if don't shut up at once!" Tom said sharply.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Ok, the last chapter was the Beauty and Beast Fairytale (Since the Beauty and Beast trailer came out, I was inspired to write this mixed and weird retellings of fairytale and mythology.) However, in the first chapter I also hinted a bit of Eros and Psyche story (The moment when Hermione was tiptoeing towards to the bed, and when she flooded the room with light, Abraxas suddenly roared that she mustn't see his face, and Hermione was so surprised that she stepped on the peacock. In the Mythology, Psyche was pricked by the Cupid's bow and fell in love with Eros).

There's also a bit of Snow White there too, (when Tom got insulted when Abraxas was calling himself beautiful, slapped him and went asking for his mirror), there's also a bit of Tangled (the phoenix tears), and of course, the story of Narcissus (Abraxas vanity).


	3. Hermione the Dragon Slayer

**RAAAAAAAAWWWWWRRRRR!**

"Oh shite!"

"Mulciber! Come up here and take over the broom! Hurry!"

"ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT! I'LL CLIMB UP!" Mulciber shouted. He was the one who was nearer to Hermione so he climbed up.

"YOU STIR THE BROOM WHILE I DO SOMETHING WITH THE DRAGON!" She yelled at him.

"JUST GIVE US OUR WANDS, GIRL! SO THAT WE CAN DEAL WITH IT TOGETHER!" Hermione heard Abraxas called out.

"NO!"

Then, she turned to Mulciber who was about to mount the broom the wrong way.

"ARE YOU AN IDIOT?! I TOLD YOU TO MOUNT AT THE FRONT NOT THE BACK!" She yelled,

"Huh?" Clifford Mulciber asked dumbly after he settled behind her, putting a hand on her shoulder to balance himself on the broomstick.

When the girl had said it, his mind flushed licentious images of him mounting the girl like she suggested.

"MERLIN'S GIRL! CAN'T YOU JUST SLOW DOWN A BIT AND STOP THROWING YOURSELF AT ANY OF US?!" Abraxas yelled.

"OH, FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE! KEEP YOUR MIND OFF THE GUTTER!" Hermione said to Mulciber who was gazing at her with a distracted expression.

"HEY! GET A BLOODY ROOM! WE ARE STILL DOWN HERE YOU KNOW!" came Benjamin's shout.

"THIS IS NOT THE TIME TO BE RIDING CLIFFORD'S BROOMSTICK, YOU LITTLE WHORE! CAN'T YOU SEE THAT WE ARE ABOUT TO GET BARBECUED ALIVE?!" was Tom Riddle's next words.

"ALL OF YOU SHUT UP AND LET ME CONCENTRATE!" Hermione screeched, sounding frustrated.

…..

Later…

"KILL THE BLOODY DRAGON!" All the men were yelling at her as she came back after blinding the beast.

"I CAN'T!" was Hermione's only response.

"ARE YOU STUPID?! IT WILL NOT REST UNTIL IT HAS KILLED ALL OF US!" Tom Riddle shouted.

"HOW CAN IT DO SO WHEN I HAVE ALREADY BLINDED IT!"

"BECAUSE IT CAN STILL TRACK US WITH SCENT ALONE, YOU FOOLISH GIRL! DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE BEAST!" Tom shouted in anger.

"You asked for it," She murmured to him, her eyes began to glow brilliantly and Tom was immediately mesmerized. His heart started to hammer wildly against his chest as he held her powerful gaze.

However, she broke eye contact when the Dragon let out another **RAAAAWWWRRR!**

And just like that, she was off, and Tom could only watched her go.

Her form a blur when she ran towards the edge of the cliff and jumped, her brown curls whipping around her, almost in super slow motion, just as the Dragon swooped down with its mouth opened wide; ready to blast a jet of flames at them.

Tom's heart skipped a beat when the girl let out a battle cry, her eyes blazing brightly as she soared high and higher - and higher still - until she reached the head of the dragon.

The beast didn't stand a chance against her.

 **BOOOOOOMMM!**

"HOLY SHIT!" Benjamin exclaimed, watching as everything unfolded before them.

Then, a second later he sighed. "I think I'm in love,"

"I think I'm going to marry her," Clifford Mulciber murmured.

"I think she's the ONE." Abraxas added.

"I think –" Fabian Avery began, but was cut off abruptly.

"I think I'm going to kill all of you if don't shut up at once!" Tom said sharply.

A moment of silence followed as the men watched the girl fight of the dragon like a Goddess.

"From being our pesky poltergeist, now turned personal on-call heroine," said Fabian Avery.

"And it seemed our own personal Dragonslayer." Llyod Nott remarked dryly, watching as the girl brought the dragon down by sinking those twin daggers into the Dragon's skull.

"She's amazing!" Benjamin exclaimed.

The other men shot him a pointed stare while Tom looked he was about to murder him.

"I mean, she's a complete thorn on our side!"

…

Much Later…

"What? Don't I get a thank you at least?" Hermione asked sarcastically, jumping from the head of the beast she had slain and landed in front of them.

The men stared at her while she cast a cleaning charm on herself, removing the blood and the soot from her battle gear and skin.

"Amm...thank you?" It was Benjamin Lestrange who said, uncertain.

Hermione snorted, "What kind of thank you is that?"

"Do you want us to grovel for you or do you want a kiss?" Riddle asked, quirking a brow; wry amusement lighting up his eyes.

Hermione scrunched her nose in disgust, looking at him from head to toe. "Perhaps seeing you grovel would do, but I would never allow any of you to kiss me."

"Perhaps I can do better than that," Clifford Mulciber interjected, stepping forward.

Hermione turned to him.

Mulciber suddenly knelt down in front of her, and searching for something in his chest pocket.

The other men were regarding the kneeling man with curiosity, except for Riddle who looked pissed for some reason.

Until Mulciber took a ring out and presented it to her. "Miss...err...what's your name again?"

"Hermione Granger," she said without thinking, staring at the ring dumbly. Numb with shock.

"Oh, amm...ok….Hermione Granger, will you do me the honor of -"

Benjamin Lestrange kicked the man in the face.

"Marry me instead!" Benjamin yelled, taking the ring from Mulciber and knelt down before her as well.

"Hey the ring is mine!" Clifford shouted, tackling Benjamin from behind, and then a scuffle ensued.

That shook Hermione from her shock.

She scowled at the two rolling on the ground.

"Stop acting like children, you fools!" Riddle ordered, kicking both of them.

Both Lestrange and Mulciber yelped and immediately scrambled to their feet when Riddle was about to kick them again.

"Give it here," Riddle ordered, his hand outstretched towards the two idiots now covered in dirt.

They glanced at each other, while Hermione and the rest of the men observed in silent curiosity.

"The ring, Lestrange!"

"Here catch," Riddle said with a brisk tone before throwing the ring at her.

Hermione caught it without thinking.

"What's this?" She asked, frowning.

"For your services."

And just like that, Hermione's anger flared hot as a lava recently erupted from a Volcano.

"Do you take me for a whore, Riddle?!"

"With you constantly wearing that tight clothes, and strutting in front of my men - even perhaps to seduce and distract them away from their goals - you might as well be." Riddle sneered, "Consider the ring payment for all the services that you have offered –"

Hermione was so blinded with fury that she chucked the ring at him and then launched herself at him.

"You're such a pig!" She yelled while Riddle caught her flying fist.

"If you don't like the ring, then perhaps a kiss it is then." He said to her, his grip on her tightening, and then he was leaning towards her and kissing her.

Hermione gasped in shock before tearing herself away from Riddle and slapping him in the face for his forwardness.

"Bastard!" She yelled before shortly apparating away from the shocked group.

"Well, that went well." Someone said before Riddle cast a cruciatus curse at them.

…..

….

..

"Too bad about the dragon," Benjamin remarked with a hint of sadness. "I've always wanted a pet dragon, perhaps even asked my father to keep it to guard our vaults in Gringotts, which is the only way I can keep one in Britain."

Hermione listened, and couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sense of remorse for killing the Dragon. But she didn't have a choice. It was going to hound them down until it had killed all of the men, and Hermione couldn't allow it.

…..

Unknown to her. In a different world. Hermione would have been the one responsible for setting the same Dragon from the Lestrange Vaults in Gringotts to escape with Harry and Ron, and carrying Helga's cup.


	4. The Seven Sleeping Knights

**Author's Notes:**

Riddle and his knights – with Hermione close at their heels - travelled to Greece for another treasure hunt.

Riddle wanted to discover what the chimera was guarding in a forest in the Greek isles.

But in truth, Riddle has set a trap for Hermione in the Cave.

* * *

 **Greece**

"GO!" Hermione screamed to them, jumping to the side just as the beast's deadly stinger was aiming to stab her in the chest.

 **CRUNCH!**

The stinger of the beast impaledunto the ground instead, clipping chips of rocks. She twisted about, when it swiftly detached from the ground and was curling and shooting towards her yet again.

"LET ME HANDLE THIS AND RUN!" She shouted once more, when all seven of them stood just outside the entrance, waiting for her.

 _I can't let the beast out. All it will slaughter everyone in the town._ Hermione thought hurriedly.

 _I need to kill it here._

With one final look at the men, and at Riddle who was gazing at her with an undecipherable expression on his face, Hermione summoned her silver dagger from where it was embedded; the one she had used to keep the entrance half-opened to get the men out of there fast.

As soon as her dagger broke free from the limestone walls, and sailed towards her –from end to end - the entrance to the cave began to descend once more. The sound of it abruptly sliding shut was accompanied by the grumbling noise and the trembling of the cave around her.

"NOOO!"

"HERMIONE!"

"YOU FOOL!"

She heard Benjamin, Clifford and Abraxas shouts, but they were already outside the cave: safe, and that was good enough for her.

As the entrance to the cave closed a shattering crash, Hermione finally caught the handle of her dagger in her hand, just as the rumble and shaking had stopped. The entrance to the cave finally closed and trapping her with the beast.

Immediately, she launched herself towards the creature, her eyes glowing silver.

The chimera bared its teeth and went for her.

.

"NOOOO!"

"HERMIONE!"

"DAMN IT! HERMIONE!" The men roared, beating their hands against the rock.

Benjamin Lestrange was trying to open the cave, casting spell after spell. Some of it so powerful that the ground shook. A look of frustration etched on his face, his jaw locked.

Clifford whipped out his wand and started testing the entrance as well.

"We need to get her out of there!" Abraxas said, his face hard and lined with worry. "We can't just leave her -"

"Yes, we can." Tom Riddle said calmly, _too calmly._

The rest of men turned to look at him.

"We are going to leave her there," Tom said, looking at each of his knights.

"You – " Abraxas began, his voice nearly choking. His eyes wide while a dawning comprehension settled on Abraxas' face. "You planned this –"

Tom directed his cold blue eyes at the blonde.

"Yes, Abraxas. I've lead you all here, and the girl, with the intent to trap her in that cave. It's the only way to stop her from following us."

The men stood there frozen in shock at what the Dark Lord said.

"But I thought...I thought…" Fabian said, shaking his head almost disbelievingly.

"You thought what, Avery?" Tom interrupted, "That I will simply forget about the girl and overlooked that fact that she has been ruining our plans – _my_ plans? I think not. I wash my hands off of her. She's no longer coming with us."

"She save us a lot of times, my lord." Benjamin asked quietly, "And now she's fighting for us!"

"I admit that the girl has save us from certain death, from dire circumstances, circumstances of her own making. She was the cause of it. She's the reason that we ended up nearly dying multiple times. It's better that she is gone. So don't question my way of getting rid of her."

The other knights didn't say anything but Tom could feel their fury at his decision in leaving the girl behind.

"Let's go." He said to them coldly.

And so the other knights followed their leader out of the cave in tensed silence, their hatret and anger for the Dark Lord hidden away at the backs of their mind.

.

A few months later….

The Knights went in search for the Tree of Knowledge.

"That's –" Benjamin murmured in awe as soon as they entered the enclosure.

"The tree of knowledge." Clifford finished, his face alight with wonder.

"One bite of the golden apple, and you will have all the knowledge that you desire," the Hag said to them; the creature which had guided them there, when they had come seeking for answers.

The Knights exchanged glances.

Tom Riddle stared at the tree, trying to count the apples that he could barely see hidden behind the foliage of golden leaves.

"There's no need for you to worry," the Hag crooned, slinking towards him.

Tom didn't glance at it.

"There's one for each of you - you and your Knights... All of you shall have a taste of the apple."

…

Thereafter….

"Will we ever see her again?"

They heard Benjamin's murmur as he stared at the golden apple in his hand.

The hag had already disappeared, when they had started plucking the golden apple from the low lying branches of the tree.

The others didn't need to know who Benjamin was referring to.

"Is that what you wanted to know? To find out where she is?" Edmund asked curiously, looking at the youngest of their group.

"Yes," was the Lestrange's soft answer.

"You are a fool Lestrange for pining after her," Tom remarked harshly, his face hard. "She's dead. Forget about her."

Benjamin tightened his hold on the golden apple; his knuckles going white.

"We don't know that…you said that you didn't find her body –"

"Enough! I don't want to hear you - or anyone - mention _her_ in my presence! Let us focus on what we came here for!"

But it seemed Lestrange wasn't done yet, for his dark hazel eyes flashed with dissent.

"She would have still been here with us, if we didn't go to that –"

Riddle backhanded him before he could finish his sentence.

 _ **SMACK!**_

The young man staggered back, blood bursting out from the cut that appeared in his lower lip. But Benjamin's eyes were like twin flames as he glared at Tom; flecks of green, brown and gold burning with new resolve as he shouted.

"SHE WOULD HAVE BEEN ALIVE, IF YOU DIDN'T LEAD HER TO A TRAP!"

With fury contorting his features that he resembled the devil that he hid beneath a charming facade, Riddle whipped out his wand and said in a frigid voice: "Crucio!"

Almost at once, Benjamin Lestrange was on the ground, writhing and screaming in agony. His golden apple rolling out from his hand.

"AARRRGGGHHHH!"

"Let this be a warning to all," He looked at each of his Knights, who couldn't meet his penetrating gaze for a long time. A muscle jutted out from Riddle's jaw when he noticed their reaction.

Twisting his wand, he increased the intensity of the cruciatus curse.

Benjamin's agonized screams changed in pitch.

"AAAARRRRRGGGGHHHHH!"

"If I hear anyone of you talking about the girl - with or within my presence - I will kill you. Am I understood?" He said softly, dangerously.

"Yes, my lord." The others said automatically, bowing their head and averting their gazes away when Tom met their stare.

"Good."

Tom lifted the curse off, and immediately, Benjamin's screams died down. Nevertheless, Tom wasn't done with him yet.

Striding closer to Benjamin's trembling form, Tom stomped his foot on the Lestrange's face for equal measure, just to prove his point.

He heard the unmistakable crunch of bone breaking beneath his booted foot.

When Tom stepped back, there was blood gushing out from Benjamin's broken nose.

Yet despite the injury, the fool had the nerve to glare at him. Glare at _HIM._

Tom's anger returned ten-fold, and he was about to continue torturing Lestrange, when Mulciber and Avery stepped in.

But it was Abraxas who reminded him, instantly diverting his attention to more pressing matters.

"My lord, your golden apple."

Tom looked down and saw that in his fury, he had gripped the golden apple too tightly, it had now become bruised - and to his consternation - it had turned green on one side.

As Tom was busy inspecting the apple in his hand, both Mulciber and Avery gently hauled Benjamin up to his feet, all the while Avery murmured quietly.

"Do as he says for now, Benjamin." Fabian Avery suggested, slinging Lestrange's arm over his shoulder while Clifford Mulciber fixed Benjamin's broken nose.

" _ **Sarcio Naris,"**_ Clifford murmured, pointing his wand at the injury. There was a distinct snap. "We must follow him, but when the time is right, we can look for her."

Benjamin had to blink when he felt the burst of pain as the bridge of his nose were aligned.

.

Tom Riddle was still glaring at Benjamin Lestrange a little later.

"When you have all the knowledge of the world -just one bite away, just one bite - and what do you do Benjamin? You choose to search for the girl's whereabouts, instead of obtaining any knowledge that you wanted. How much of a fool can you get?!"

Like automatons, the men said in unison, "Yes, my lord." Before they brought the golden apple up to their lips, and took a bite.

.

In the shadows, the hag cackled evilly as she watched the seven men took the bite from the apple.

 _Fools they were to believe that it would give them all the knowledge of the world._

 _._

As soon as Tom began to feel sleepy he turned to his Basilisk and commanded him.

" _BASILISK! I COMMAND YOU TO PROTECT THIS PATCH OF LAND FROM ANY INTRUDER. GUARD OUR SLEEP UNTIL THE DAY SHALL COME WHEN SOMEONE COMES SEEKING FOR US! HEED MY COMMAND BASILISK, KING OF THE SERPENT! FOR I AM THE HEIR OF SLYTHERIN! YOUR MASTER!"_ He said before he, too, fell on the ground and lose consciousness.

 _._

In the shadows still, the hag watched _as_ one by one the knights fell on their knees and succumb to sleep. The golden apples rolling out from their palms and unto the grass _._

The last one, the one who spoke the ancient language of the serpent, murmured a name before he too fell into a deep slumber.

"Hermione," the hag read from those red lips, and wondered who the man was calling for.

.

" _Hermione…."_

Somewhere, deep within a cave, Hermione woke up with a gasp when she heard a voice.

"Tom," was the first name that came out from Hermione's lips as she juxtaposed from the floor, her eyes searching for the owner of the voice.

There was no one there, except an endless grass in the colour of scarlet and gold.

Hermione didn't know where she was. This was not the cave where she had slain the monster she had trapped with her.

She was somewhere else.

A gentle breeze ruffled her mated hair, carrying the scent of dried blood and sweat away from her. Sunlight beating down gently down on her from the azure heavens. Scattered remnants of clouds drifting above her which sometimes provided Hermione a short reprieve from the glare of the sunlight as it throws shadows over the land.

Hermione scanned the horizons and could only see an endless see of grass. Yet the weak – but definite - tag in her chest was undeniable.

It was telling her to head west to where ever Tom Riddle and his knights were.

 _They must have travelled far by now…for I have never felt the link this so weak..._ Hermione thought, following the call that would lead her to the men.

 _Her men._

 _What has happened now Tom that you have the need to call me and wake me up from my slumber?_ She silently wondered and felt a growing sense of worry taking root in her mind at the possible scenarios

.

"I will give you the antidote, but in exchange, you must give me the heads of the most dangerous beasts that roam our world." The Hag said to her after Hermione discovered the enclosure where the Tree of Knowledge and the seven sleeping Knights were. The enclosure was guarded by Tom's Great Basilisk when she arrived there.

"One head of the chimera, three heads of the cereberus and six heads of a hyrda. All of this I require to brew the antidote that will save your lovers. I will give you one month to acquire these things. If you fail to do this task, your lovers will die." The Hag stated.

"They are not my lovers." Hermione replied.

"Lovers or not. They will die if you do not return with the prize heads, and their deaths will be in your hands."

 **OooOO THE TASKS OOooo**

Hermione was falling, falling from the sky.

Her eyes closed, arms and legs tucked tightly together as the blast of cold wind whipped around her.

Behind her, the warm rays of the sun finally disappeared from the red and purple tinged horizon.

And the full moon climbed up towards the sky.

She fell through the pockets of clouds unhindered.

That's when Hermione's power slowly awakened.

It started with a tingle from the tips of her fingers, before it spread and became a jolt of electrical currents surging through her veins.

As the rush of unadulterated power flooded her senses, Hermione's eyes shot opened; glowing silver, while golden wings - licking with scarlet flames - erupted from her back. It was followed by the appearance of silver and green scales breaking all over her skin. It lined and covered her entire body like armour.

Her chestnut curls bled to midnight black, with a smattering of blue and yellow feathers attached to her mane. Fingernails became sharp talons, a red tail formed and sprouted from her lower back, and her teeth became sharp, pointed fangs.

The power of the phoenix and dragon in her hybrid blood had finally been unleashed.

Red, yellow and orange embers of fire trickling out from her golden wings as she fell head first towards the body of water below, where a monstrous form awaited her, trashing and generating gigantic waves.

The creature with eight heads let out an almighty roar as she neared.

 _ **RAAAAAAWWWWWWRRRRRRRRRRR**_

 _ **GLADIUM INFERNUM!**_ She shouted, her voice boomed through the vastness of the Baltic sea, and in a flash of light, a huge sword appeared in her right hand and blazing with the black fire from hell.

 _ **RAAAAAAWWWWWWRRRRRRRRRRR**_

The monstrous sea creature let out yet another mighty roar that created a tidal waves over the sea, flooding the nearest islets.

 _Time to awaken those seven idiots,_ was her last thought as she unfurled her wings and flew towards the monster with her blazing black sword. Silver eyes ever-glowing.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Thank you for reading! Your reviews fuels my passion for writing so please don't hesitate to tell me what you think! If you want to see the aesthetics, story trailer and photoshopped edits that I made for the story please check out my twitter, pinterest, youtube or tumblr account. But you can always contact me on twitter, facebook or tumblr so please don't be a stranger and let us be friends!


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